Wandered Astray
by Just-Caro
Summary: TOTALLY REVISED! There was one rule within the lair that was to be followed at all times: Don't go into the sewers. But what if that’s they’re only chance of survival? CHIBI FIC!


_Hey guys!_

_All right, I ended up taking down the original story and revised it. For some reason when I read it, I didn;t like how it flowed together. So I deleted all of Raph and Leo's parts and added more to the end, so you might just want to read the whole thing over._

Don't worry, you will still read Raph and Leo's part. Most likely in the next chapter.

_Enjoy!_

Thanks to my good friend Rhina for betaing for me and helping me with this revising idea!

* * *

There was one rule within the lair that was to be followed at all times: Do not go into the sewers. It had been deemed the Golden Rule and the young turtles acknowledged the consequences. They could be taken, they could get lost, they could get hurt, they could get sick... the list went on, but those were just scare tactics to keep them safe and unseen. If a human were to notice a strange being walking along the sewers especially those who worked relentlessly near the manholes during topside construction would have a field day.

You would think a first initial reaction would be to run and scream, but New Yorkers had tough skin, they've seen much worse than walking green turtles with a rat for a father. Everything happened in the city that never sleeps.

It was a chilly day, you could tell just by the freezing drop in the lair that left the young turtles shivering in winter gear and steaming hot cocoa. They were playing amongst each other, divided into separate groups.

Donnie and Mikey were playing go fish at the kitchen table with some old cards that Master Splinter had found in his weekly scavenger in the alleys of New York. Donnie was getting mad because Mikey didn't understand the concept of the game and kept picking up random cards. Not to mention he had a small cold and would cough or sneeze every few minutes.

"I don't wanna play anymore." he muttered after Mikey couched onto his hand of cards. He climbed down from the chair and headed over towards his older brothers, leaving Mikey to clean up the mess.

"You cheated, Raphie!" Leo was shouting at the red banded turtle.

"Did not, the card said seven!" Raph countered. "An' stop callin' me Raphie! We're eleven!"

The board game of Sorry was now forgotten as Raph launched himself over it and at his oldest brother, tackling him to the ground. They rolled around the floor, yelling and punching, the game pieces flying across the room.

"Should we stop them?" Mikey asked, coming up beside his brother Donnie, who shook his head.

"No way, remember what happened last time?"

Mikey paused to think over the last time, Raph and Leo had been arguing over who gets the last slice of pizza. Donnie had tried to calm them and called for Master Splinter only to get himself pulled into the argument. However, with Mikey's stomach, it pretty much triggered it all. Oblivious to the shouting match, he took the last slice and devoured it in four bites.

Silence.

Then with a roar of fury, Raph had knocked him off the chair. Mikey vividly remember the bruise he got on his shoulder for that and the quick apology Raph said to hush him up.

"Raphael! Leonardo!"

The sharp voice of their father was enough to make the boys spring apart and stand. They sheepishly looked up at Master Splinter, who looked at them expectantly. He was dressed in the familiar get up that he usually wore when he went topside.

"Sorry Sensei." they chorused like well rehearsed actors.

"Twenty flips extra flips at tomorrow morning's practice." Master Splinter stated. "I was to bring you both with me, but your behavior has been less than satisfactory. Perhaps, next time you will learn. For now, you two have to watch your younger brothers, understood?" he turned to Leo as he slipped on his hat. "Make sure all of your brothers do not wander off and Raphael don't let your anger cause destruction. If I see another broken object in this room, you will be receiving extra chores for the week."

"Hai Sensei." they bowed respectfully.

"Master Splinter, can we come with you?" Mikey asked, tugging on the sleeve of the coat. He gestured to Donnie too. "We were good."

"Yes, you were, my son." Master Splinter praised with a smile. "Unfortunately, you both are young. I fear your curious minds will leave you wandering far behind me."

Mikey pouted, "We'll listen to you, I promise. Please! We wanna go!"

Donnie shifted uncomfortably. He hated to be tied into a conversation that he wanted nothing to apart of.

"I said no, Michelangelo."

"Me and Donnie never go!" he huffed angrily. "You always take them!"

Master Splinter's tail twitched. "Stop whining, Michelangelo. The answer is no and that is final, you are to stay with your brothers."

Mikey looked at the ground as he chewed on his bottom lip to keep from crying. It was unfair! Donnie immediately walked to his younger brother and slid an arm around his shoulders to comfort him.

"I will be back late, my sons." Master Splinter told them. "I expect you all in bed by the time I come home and remember - "

"Do not leave the lair." the four finished for him.

Master Splinter chuckled, "Very good." he then disappeared out the door.

"You cry too much, Mikey." Raph said. "Yah need to toughen up then maybe Master Splinter would let yah go with him."

Mikey only glared at him, wiping away the tears from his cheeks. "Shut up, Raph!"

"That's 'cause you know it's true."

"Raph," Leo warned. "You need to stop picking on them."

Raph shrugged, carelessly. "Fine. Let's play a game."

"Hide and Seek!" Mikey shouted with a bright smile.

"I pick Charades." Donnie countered. Mikey pretended to barf at the choice.

"We ain't playin' those baby games." Raph said. "We're gonna play follow the leader."

Donnie and Mikey groaned. "I hate that game..." Mikey whined.

"That's cause you can't do have the stuff me n' Leo do." Raph said with a laugh.

"I'm not gonna play." Donnie said. "I don't wanna."

"Me neither." Mikey agreed.

"You have to." Raph told them. "Me and Leo are in charge, so you gotta do what we say."

"Raph, leave them alone. " Leo demanded. "They don't have to play if they don't wanna."

"Whateva." he shrugged again. It was a small habit of his. "I'm the leader!" he shouted and sprung off, instantly followed by a whining Leo.

"So whaddya wanna do?" Mikey asked his older brother.

"Let's go to the room and play legos." Donnie said.

Mikey sighed, "Okay, but you gotta help me build something. 'Kay?"

"It's not hard, Mikey." Donnie said as they ran towards the room. "All you have to do is click the pieces together."

"I'm not stupid, I know that." he retorted. "I just can't make big things like you can. You make houses and cars and all that stuff."

Donnie shrugged. "I just like making things, I guess. It's fun!"

They entered Donnie's room and started to dig through his toy box, pulling out various trinkets and toys. As they pulled out the box of legos they could hear shouting and yelling. Yet again Leo and Raph were on the floor punching and kicking at each other, screaming at the top of their lungs.

"Aren't we supposed to keep quiet?" Mikey said softly.

"Yeah, but who's gonna hear us." Donnie said. "We live under the ground."

Mikey shrugged, "I guess." he picked out some legos and started to snap the together. He had no idea what he was making.

"What is that supposed to be?" Donnie asked, gesturing to the structure in Mikey's hand.

"I dunno." he replied. "I was just making some - Achoo!"

"Bless you."

"Thank - " he was suddenly cut off.

_Creeeeaaaaaak... Cluuuuuuuuuunnk... Clunk. _

_Boom!_

"What was that?!"

"I dunno!" Donnie shouted.

"DONNIE! MIKEY!" their brother's voices could be heard. Leo. "HIDE! THEY'RE HUMANS! HIDE!"

Donnie panicked. Hide. Humans. That's all he could compute right now.

He couldn't tell if it was a joke or real, but his brothers wouldn't kid with something as dangerous as this. He glanced at his younger brother, who had already dived under the bed the moment the warning had been issued.

He grimaced at the choice; it wasn't exactly the best hiding spot in the world. Then again, Mikey was never really good at hide and seek in the first place. It was a wonder as to why he loved the game so much if he was always the seeker.

"Mikey, get outta there!" Donnie shouted, beckoning his brother. "They can still see you. We have to meet Raph and Leo at the hiding spot that Master Splinter told us about, remember?!"

Mikey shook his head. He was scared; he was not going to come out.

Donnie tried to stay calm, but inside his heart was thumping against his chest. He could hear voices. They were foreign, unrecognized and were coming their way. By the sound of the footsteps, they were heading fast. He half wondered if Leo and Raph had already been caught.

"DONNIE!" Mikey suddenly screamed.

Whirling around, Donnie ducked just in time as a human came down for him. He jumped over the partner, which sent him sprawling across the room.

"_Get them, now!"_

Mikey suddenly bolted from underneath the bed, grabbed his brother's hand and ran out the room. The lair was a mess. Everything was strewn about the place as if a tornado had swept through.

"Raphie!" Mikey shouted, pulling on Donnie. He didn't want to let go and then lose his only companion. "Leo!"

No answer.

Something flew past them and stuck in the wall by them. It was a dart. More specially a needle and Mikey screamed in surprise. He hated needles! Master Splinter had been right, Humans were evil.

As he headed towards the hiding spot, Donnie was suddenly yanked from his grasp. He turned around, skidding to a stop in his tracks. The human was holding his brother by one arm. A rage flared up within the young turtle and remembering his training, he came at the intruder low and kicked him where the sun don't shine.

Master Splinter had taken precautions and put together a lesson on human weak spots - male and female. And they thought he wasn't paying attention.

The human dropped Donnie, who was able to twist and land on his feet. "Come on!" he took hold of Mikey and stopped when he noticed another set of humans running at them.

"We have to get out of here!" Donnie said. He abandoned the lair, ducking between the legs of one of the humans and dashed out the door and into the sewers.

"We're not supposed to go in the sewers..." Mikey said softly.

"I know that, but there's a good hiding spot here." Donnie explained, making a left down the tunnel. "I remember 'cause I found it that one time when I ran away and sensei found me."

"Oh yeah." Mikey said, "You were gone forever."

"Shh..." Donnie pressed his finger to his lips, squeezing into a dark side tunnel. It was small enough for them to crawl through. He beckoned his younger brother to follow. "Mikey, get in here now."

Mikey didn't need to be told twice. The orange banded turtle scrambled inside just as footsteps farther down could be heard.

"_Where the hell did they go?"_

"_How should I know? I'm not their keeper."_

A small tingle sensation was now pestering Mikey's nostrils. He wrinkled his nose, his face screwing up as he prepared to sneeze. Donnie tackled his brother, clamping a hand over his nose and mouth to stop the sound from giving away their position. Instead, it came out like a muffled farting sound.

Donnie pulled his hand away in disgust as he wiped the palm of his hand on the slimy tunnel wall. His brother grinned at him sheepishly.

"_What was that?"_

The two turtles froze. They hadn't thought the humans heard the noise.

"_It came from over here!"_

A light appeared through the tunnel, exposing their sanctuary. Mikey screamed in surprise as the human reached in to grab at them. Fear gripped him as tears started to roll down his eyes, his hold on Donnie's arm tight. Donnie didn't know what to do. This was usually Leo's department, but now that he had his younger brother, he had to take care of them both.

He only had two options: Stay in the same spot as the humans kept trying to grab or crawl down this tunnel that could lead them only who knows where.

At the moment, being in a lost and strange place beat out being capture by these humans. The sewer was his home, it wouldn't leave them astray. Hopefully, it could take them back home with their brothers or better yet Master Splinter.

"_You idiot, they ain't comin' out!" _

"_I'll get Cris, she's small enough to get in there."_

Mikey's eyes widened at that statement. Would the humans really be able to get in here and get them. He didn't think humans could get any smaller, but then he remembered the small ones on tv. They were kids, but a kid wouldn't be that evil. I mean, he was a kid too.

"Mikey," Donnie whispered, tugging on his brother. "We're gonna go this way, okay?"

"What if we get lost?" Mikey asked softly.

"It's than getting caught by the humans." Donnie said, " Come on, before they come back with the Cris person."

The two young turtles had barely managed to get away from the human threat by taking a detour. Crawling through the cramped passage, brought cuts and bruises from the metal pipes onto their soft skin. Mikey was still in shock by the whole event, hollowly following after his older brother in rare silence. Donnie on the other hand tried to stay calm even though he was panicking on the inside. He had no idea where he was going or what to do when they did get somewhere. It was now more than ever he wished Leo or Raph were here.

He silently hoped they were okay.

Mikey sneezed again, followed by some sniffling. It must've been the fifth time this hour and Donnie was getting worried by the second. He knew his younger brother was still getting over a cold. The last thing they needed was for him to get worse.

"You okay, Mikey?" he asked.

"Fine, Donnie." Mikey replied quickly. "I'm just achy."

"We're almost at the end of the tunnel, bro." Donnie said. "I can see light. We'll be out of this in no time."

"M'kay..." he sniffled then added, "What if the humans follow us?"

Donnie swallowed, "I don't know."

"I thought you knew everything."

For some reason, Donnie flared at the comment. "I'm only eleven. Does it look like I know everything?"

Donnie let out a sigh,"I'm sorry, Mikey, but... I'm scared too. I don't know if - hey, we're at the end!"

The purple banded turtle stood still, looking around before making any moves. He didn't want to jeopardize their lives by putting him and his brother in danger again. As he slowly started to tuck his legs from underneath him to jump down to the ledge, a soft shove from behind got his attention.

"What?" he grumbled.

"Hurry up," Mikey whined, "I don't want to stare at your butt all day! You're being a slowpoke!"

"Am not!" Donnie shot back. "I'm trying to make sure the coast is clear. You don't wanna be seen by the humans again, do you?"

"No..."

"Then, stop being a big baby and give me some space." Donnie growled with impatience. He stared into the place they discovered. It was a large circular room, dimmed with overhung lights above and rushing water that poured from vents around it, which met in a pool way beneath everything. A metal rusted bridge was laid out to get on the other side where a much bigger yet familiar tunnel lie. "Mikey, I have an idea, but it's a - " he was interrupted by a snort.

Donnie glanced over his shoulder to see his younger brother leaning against the tunnel, eyes fluttering closed from exhaustion. It was probably from the cold, it's wearing down his body. Crawling back, Donnie shook Mikey back to consciousness, whose eyes popped open from fright.

"What?" he snapped irritably, his eyes already starting to droop.

"Don't fall asleep." Donnie told him. "I know you're tired, I'm tired too, but we have to keep moving. Hopefully, we can find someplace to crash and sleep."

Holding onto his brother's hand, Donnie climbed out of the tunnel, his feet safely on the ground before turning to drag Mikey out.

"I'm not a baby; you don't have to help me with everything..." Mikey huffed, standing by his older brother and stretching. He glanced around. "So, now what?"

"We're gonna cross the bridge - duh!" Donnie answered.

Mikey grimaced, "It don't have railings."

"I know, but if you want you can hold onto my shell for balance." Donnie offered, and then he smirked. "But then I remember you saying 'I'm not a baby, you don't have to help me with - "

"Donnie, just go!" Mikey cut in, not wanting to hear a teasing remark from his brother right now. When Donnie got into a speech, it was hard to shut him up.

"Whoa, Careful," Donnie cautioned, stepping lightly on the creaky overpass. "This bridge is wobbly, we have to be slow. That means no jumping around."

"Hey, I'm the one holding onto you." Mikey chirped, "You need to be careful, bro. I'm just going with the flow."

Taking a deep breath, the purple banded turtle took slow steps, one foot in front of the other. His arms were out, to help keep him and his brother balanced, but Mikey was death gripping him that the bridge creaked beneath them. Mikey yelped.

"Don't be stiff." Donnie advised, keeping his eyes in front of him as to not lose any concentration. "You're not supposed to- ernf!" he wobbled unsteadily for moment, tittering left to right.

"Donnie..." Mikey whimpered, his hands now grasping Donnie's forearms.

"Mikey, let go of me!"

Time seemed to freeze. Donnie broke his focus on the task at hand, his foot miscalculating a step forwards and slipped on the edge. With a yell of horror, Donnie went over, plunging for the rushing water below, but he luckily managed to grab the side of the platform. Mikey had let go the moment Donnie told him to and instead of rocketing off the side, he fell to the ground, the bridge shaking from the impact.

Mikey groaned, feeling his shoulder for any sores or bumps. A bruise, turning blue, it was tender to the touch. He grimaced, getting to his knees as he frantically searched for his brother.

"Donnie!" he shouted.

"I'm here!" was the strained reply. "I'm over here - hurry!"

Mikey followed the voice, not wanting to get up from the unstable bridge he was on. A smile lit up his face when he heard Donnie was alive and well, but it disappeared when he saw his brother was dangling off the edge a further ways up.

"Donnie!" he shouted again.

"Mikey, I'm slipping!" Donnie grunted, struggling and kicking.

"I'm scared!" Mikey shouted, tears coming to his eyes and he gazed at the bridge beneath him.

"You have to try!" Donnie encouraged, "You're ninja, Mikey! C'mon.. Please! I'm slipping more!"

The desperate cries of his brother's voice rattled Mikey's heart. He couldn't let his brother down, he was counting on him. If Raph or Leo were here, they would've saved Donnie in a heartbeat, but they weren't here. It was just him and the bridge. The evil bridge that threatened to let go of Donnie at any second if he didn't do something.

Mikey swallowed, taking in a deep breath and slowly got to his feet. This would be just like a video game. All the heroes went through this kind of test during the climax of the story and this was it. Besides, if he wanted to be a superhero one day, he needed to start learning how to save people quickly - why not start with his brother?

"I'm coming, Donnie!" he called, harnessing his attention on the bridge and his older brother. At least those training lessons with Master Splinter paid off. He may not have looked like it, but he was definitely listening.

Despite the situation he was in Donnie was proud of his little brother. Mikey hated being in a vulnerable position and it usually took months to coax him out of the fear he faced, but Mikey was able to conquer it on his own.

Although he did wish Mikey would hurry up.

His feet kicked like a bug would when flipped onto it's back. He could feel his hands aching as he grasped tightly onto the metal steel of the bridge. His palms were sweating and the water down below didn't offer any mercy as it lashed against the grimy walls of the sewer. Eyes wide, he watched helplessly as his fingers lost grip and he started for the water when his fall came to a stop.

"Mikey!" he exclaimed.

"You're heavier than you look..." Mikey groaned, holding on tight to his brother's hand.

"Swing me up." Donnie instructed.

"One... two... three!" and Mikey taking in all his strength an eleven year old could harness and swung his brother up. With the help of momentum Donnie was safely back on the bridge behind him.

"Raph and Leo will never believe any of this." Donnie said, steadying his breathing as he lay sprawled on his back.

_Creeeaaaaak..._

"What was that?"

"Do you want me to lie?" Mikey asked in a small voice.

The bridge suddenly swayed and Donnie opened his eyes. "The bridge is falling."

"Two points, Don!" Mikey congratulated.

"No time for jokes - let's go!" Donnie said. The young turtle hopped to his feet, grabbing Mikey's hand and ran.

With a loud deafening snap the bridge plunged downwards, the two turtles screaming as they fell. Their yells were silenced as they crashed into the raging water. Donnie broke the surface, gasping for air and frantically flapping his arms to stay above water. A moment later, Mikey came up, spluttering and gagging.

"Donnie, follow me!" he shouted above the water and dived back into the water.

Not knowing what else to do, Donnie took a deep breath and swam after his brother. He followed him into a dark tunnel where the water was slowly disappearing until he felt land under the soles of his feet.

"Where are we?" he asked.

Mikey shrugged, "Who cares?" he looked at his brother. "As long as we found somewhere safe, right?"

"Yeah..." Donnie murmured, sitting down against the wall of the hollow space around them. "We should look around later..." he yawned, fatigue claiming over his sore body.

He felt a sudden pressure by his side and squinted to his see younger brother cuddling up next to him. A smile crossed Donnie's face as he raised his arms and hugged Mikey closer to him, using the younger's head as pillow like he was using his shoulder as one. Donnie was only half aware of the heat rising from Mikey's skin.

"Do you think Raph and Leo are okay?" Mikey suddenly asked.

"I hope so." Donnie replied tiredly. "They're tougher than us; I don't think they got caught."

"What if they did?"

"I dunno, Mikey. We'd have to rescue them, I guess."

"How would we do that?"

"We're ninja. We'll think of something, but let's go to sleep. I'm tired."

Mikey sighed. "Night Donnie."

"Goodnight, Mikey."

A few minutes later, Mikey rolled over. He sighed, staring into darkness as he listened to the rise and fall of his brother's chest. Usually it didn't take long for Mikey to fall asleep, but considering the circumstances he was way too scared to even shut his eyes. It was a wonder how Donnie was even able to sleep. He slwoly and carefull untangled himself from Donnie's arms and stretched.

He glanced around the darkness and felt a drop of water fall onto the back of his had. Surprised, he pulled it back and looked to see where it was coming from. A small sewer pipe was overhead, residue from left over water draining through. He placed his hand back where it was and felt another icy drop land on his skin. He sniffed, counting in his head as a thrid drop fell. It wasn't fun, but it kept him occupied. He shivered, stifiling a cough and got himself comfprtable

**A HALF AN HOUR LATER**

"A hundred and ninety four..."

_Plop!_

"A hundred and ninety-five..."

_Plop!_

"A hundred and ninety-six..."

_Plop!_

"A hundred and ninety-seven..."

Mikey was sprawled out on his stomach against the wet stone ground, watching the drops of water from the pipe overhead splash onto the palm of his hand.

_Plop!_

"A hundred and ninety-eight..."

_Plop!_

"A hundred and ninety-nine..."

He'd been doing this for awhile now. He wasn't sure how long, but it had kept him entertained for the better part of an hour. Sleeping didn't work for him right now and he didn't feel all too well either.

The sewers had become unusually colder in the past hour or so and it was not helping to improve the health of the young turtle. Every once in a while he would shiver or let out a small sneeze, while wishing the pounding migraine in his head would go away.. Out of all his brothers, Mikey was the most prone to catching colds, but was easy to overcome them. Unfortunately, due the circumstances, it seemed that Mikey was going to have it rough if they didn't find their brothers and father real soon.

Mikey sighed, glancing over to his older brother. Donnie was leaned against the rocky wall, his head drooping on his shoulder and his soft snoring echoing around the place. A light smile brightened Mikey's previously gloomy one as he shivered again and picked himself up from the ground. His body groaned in objection, the joints and muscles flaring with pain. He swayed on his feet for a fraction of a second before a wave of dizziness pass through him and he doubled over to release the contents of his stomach.

As if by sense, Donnie's eyes snapped open. The empty weight where Mikey had been was gone and he now saw him a few feet away, spilling out his insides. Concerned for the younger turtle, Donnie scrambled up and went to his side. He whispered soft murmurings in Mikey's ear, rubbing small circles on his shell to help soothe his trembling body.

"Better?" Donnie asked once Mikey had ceased vomiting.

Mikey shook his head mutely and started to sprawl out on the floor. Donnie quickly pulled him back up and together they settled down against the wall.

"I don't feel good..." Mikey mumbled, sniffling.

"I know, bro." Donnie said gently. "You're burning up, so you must have a fever."

"I don't wanna die, Donnie." Mikey stated.

Donnie rolled his eyes at the exaggeration. "Don't be dramatic. You're not going to die."

"Yeah-huh," Mikey croaked, snuggling closer to his older brother, "Raphie said that if you ever get a high fever, you can die from it."

Donnie stood quiet for a moment. He wished Raph would stop telling Mikey things he didn't need to know. "He's right, but you have a_ low_ fever." Donnie told him. "So, you don't have to worry about it."

Mikey seemed unconvinced. "If you say so."

"You think you can walk?" Donnie asked.

Mikey shrugged, "I think so, why?"

"There's a passage straight ahead." he said, "We need to get as far as we can from those humans."

"What about Leo, Raph and Sensei?" Mikey asked, ignoring his scratchy throat.

"We... have to worry about us right now, bro." Donnie replied softly.

Mikey didn't seemed all that convince, but nodded. "Okay... fine." he groaned. "Just gimme a few minutes."

"Okay." Donnie said, hugging his brother closer. He placed his chin atop Mikey's head and stared off into the distance. Despite what he had told Mikey, he'd been worried about his family for the longest time. Now, he needed to watch over Mikey and the cold he contained. The sewers were the worst place to recover, but there was a slight possibility their chances could worsen.

It was just one of those eerie feelings or as Mikey would say a horror movie intuition.

"Donnie, my head really hurts…" Mikey sniffed.

"I can't do anything for that, we're not at home right now." Donnie pointed out. He pulled his back to look at his brother's face. Mikey's eyes were baggy, he did look very tired. He sighed in exasperation at the situation and tucked Mikey's head back under his chin.

Mikey cleared his throat and slowly untangled himself from Donnie's arms. "I can keep going, Donnie."

The youngest didn't like upsetting his brothers too much, although he did pull pranks, he would always apologize if it got them so aggravated that he was the target of their wrath. He was closest with Donnie, he considered him as not only his brother, but his best friend too and he hated to disappoint him.

"No, you're sick." Donnie stated. "We can't –"

"No, we can go!" Mikey said, stubbornly. "Only for a little bit, Donnie. I can do it. Then we can rest again."

Donnie looked skeptical. The last thing he wished was to put his brother in jeopardy, but the more he thought about it… he'd rather risk Mikey's health trampling through the drafty sewers than losing him to a bunch of humans.

"Okay." Donnie complied, nodding. "But the minute you start feeling worse, we're gonna stop."

Mikey grinned despite the throbbing in his head. "M'kay, Donnie." He replied.

"Come here," Donnie sighed. He took Mikey's arm around his neck and slid his own arm around his younger brother's waist. "I don't want you falling, it's better if I help you."

No objections came from the smaller of the two. Deep down he really did like being fussed over, especially by his older brothers. It made him feel loved and secured, he knew he could always count on them to be by his side.

The two turtles slowly walked through the dark cave, never wavering left to right, but straight on where Donnie had spotted an opening to get through.

"It was here somewhere." Donnie said.

"Maybe you were seeing things." Mikey suggested.

Donnie shook his head. "No," he muttered angrily. "I saw it! It was right over-"

"OWWWW!" Mikey cried out, colliding into something. He would have fallen over if Donnie hadn't caught his footing.

Stifling back his laughter, Donnie stepped forward and waved his hands where Mikey had bumped into the wall. He touched something and it wasn't anything like the rocky wall. "It's a wood plank."

"A wood plank?" Mikey repeated. "You mean someone boarded up the tunnel?"

"Yeah and it's our only way out." Donnie said.

Mikey sniffled. "So, what do we do?"

"We're gonna climb through the areas that aren't boarded up." was the answer. He turned Mikey and gestured to it. "You first."

Mikey slowly peered between the boards then glanced back over his shoulder. Donnie smile and gave him a thumbs up of encouragement. The younger sighed, ducking his head and climbed through. He was about halfway out when he sudden; could not movie. He tried again, kicking his legs to help him squeeze through.

"Donnie!" he exclaimed with a loud grunt. "I'm stuck! It's my shell!"

"Hold on, Mikey!"

As Mikey wriggled, he could feel his brother trying to push him. He cried out in pain. "Donnie, you aren't helping! It hurts when you-" he paused, hearing a low grumble from the end of the tunnel. "And can you hurry?! I'm starting to hear-" the low grumble turned into a menacing growl and Mikey started to panic. "Donnie!"

"Mikey, stop moving around!" Donnie shouted at him "I'm trying to find something to help!"

The growling continued and Mikey swiveled his head from left to right. Then noise bounced off the sewer walls and the ankle deep water rippled and sloshed around as pounding footsteps started coming down the right. Mikey stopped wriggling as his gaze found himself looking into the eyes of a monster.

He screamed. "DONNIE!!"

"Mikey, what-" Donnie's words were cut off as the wall exploded and he went flying through the air, his shell hitting a wall.

Mikey was hurtled halfway across the cave and landed in the water with a splash. He picked up his head, sputtering and gagging. His stomach gave an unfriendly gurgle before vomited once again. He had learned from a young age never to get into the water. It was full of bacteria and germs and could make them deathly sick. "Donnie," he breathed. Then straightened up, looking around. "Donnie! Where are you?!"

He crawled through the water, taking care to notice any hint of movement. The last thing he wanted was to meet up with that ferocious monster. Although, he figured it was still lurking about ready to have a two turtle dinner special. He heard a groan to his left and looked to see a lump on the ground moving.

"Donnie!" he called, getting onto his feet and running over. He fell back on his knees beside him and shook his arm. "Bro, wake up. This is no time for a nap!"

Donnie opened his eyes. "My head hurts."

"You probably hit it or something." Mikey answered. He saw a trickle of blood coming down from the side of his brother's head. "Yeah, you did hit it. It's bleeding." He gasped.

"I know, I can feel it." Donnie replied. He shook his head and sat up. "What happened back there?"

Mikey gulped. "It was a monster."

Donnie gave him a doubtful look.

"I swear!" Mikey exclaimed. "I'm not lying!"

"Yeah and we can fly." Donnie snapped.

"I know what I saw!" he shot back. "See, look, it kinda…" he trailed off, looking over Donnie's shoulder, "…looked like that…"

Donnie turned around and froze. "Mikey, that's not a monster." He slowly got to his feet and moved steadily back, dragging Mikey with him. "It's a crocodile!"

The crocodile snarled and roared, it's powerful jaws snapping at the two turtles. They screamed as they once again went soaring through the air.

* * *

_See you next chapter! I accept critique, but flames will be used to fuel my car!_

I love reviews. I'm hoping for more than ten reviews, at least.

Signed,  
Caro


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